Flushable, pre-moistened, sanitary wipes have been available in the marketplace since at least the mid 1970's, and typically comprise a web of soft, fibrous material, such as tissue paper, bonded together with a reinforcing layer that contains a water-dispersible material. The web is often patterned and cut into napkin-sized towelettes. A stack of these towelettes is then moistened and protected from evaporation in a sealable plastic container. Pre-moistened towelettes can be stored for lengthy periods of time, even periods exceeding a year.
When intended for use in and around the bathroom, for example, as toilet paper or a baby wipe, premoistened tissue has to be pliable enough to permit easy disposal within the vortex of a toilet bowl ("flushability"), but also has to have sufficient strength to be useful in abrasive hygienic applications ("wet strength"). In other applications, such as kitchens, health clubs or like facilities, however, flushability is less important. Another desirable property for the towelettes is "biodegradability"; in other words, the towelettes have to be capable of being decomposed by natural biological processes in, for example, sanitary sewer systems or landfills.
One popular, pre-moistened tissue material is disclosed in Grach et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,881,210 (hereby incorporated by reference), and is believed to be sold by Scott Paper Company, under the trademarks "SOFTKINS", "WET WIPES" and "COTTONELLE." The pre-moistened wipes of Grach et al. contain a reinforcing layer containing a thin film of polyvinyl alcohol and water-dispersible polyvinyl acetate. This reinforcing layer is laminated to a web of soft, fibrous material, and the resultant product is pre-moistened to a moisture content of about 100-350 wt. %. Upon flushing these tissues, the reinforcing layer is dispersed in the water vortex of the toilet so that it can be readily disposed of without clogging the plumbing.
Once a solution to the problem of preparing a flushable soft web that has sufficient wet strength to be used as a sanitary towelette was solved, artisans quickly sought a dispenser for placing a multiplicity of these towelettes in the bathroom or nursery. Initially, a stack of the pre-moistened towelettes was inserted into a simple rectangular box having a hinged lid. It soon became apparent, however, that opening the sealed lid and removing a single wipe from a moistened stack required a certain amount of manual dexterity and patience. In addition, a certain amount of drying took place on the opening of the box.
More convenient means for housing and accessing wet towelettes were later developed in an attempt to solve these problems. See Phillips, U.S. Pat. No. 4,978,095, Boone, U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,617 (Boone '617), and Boone, U.S. Pat. No. 3,837,595 (Boone '595) all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. In Phillips and certain embodiments of Boone '595, a roll of wet towelettes was provided, the roll being arranged, in a vertical position and towelettes were then removed from the center of the roll by twisting one or more towelettes at a time through a central opening of a vertically-positioned cylindrical container. In Boone '617, a wet towelette dispenser was described which could be alternatively mounted in a conventional dry toilet paper holder or by means of mounting arms associated with a dry toilet paper spindle posterior to a roll of dry toilet paper. Boone '595 also discloses an embodiment using a horizontally held roll of wetted sheets. A leading area of the sheet material extends through a slot, such as an incision, extending lengthwise in the container. The container is formed of a thin plastic material which is stated to provide a resilience in the wall portion in which the incision is formed. An exterior flap member biased toward the wall of the container is used to provide a seal. In addition to the containers described in Boone '595, Boone '617 describes both a horizontally positioned cylinder and box-like wet towelette dispenser. Horizontal stability is provided to the dispensers by means of positioning appendages or legs extending inwardly from the mounting arms and resting against the wall of the bathroom or the like on which the dispenser is mounted.
The devices disclosed by Phillips and Boone have not, however, been commercially implemented for "WET WIPES" type products. Some of the reasons for this could be the fact that they are inconvenient to set up and use, or they require additional hardware which is not readily adapted for use in a conventional bathroom.